Tag Archives: 2015

Aditi Chauhan, the West Ham United Ladies FC and India national goalkeeper, won the Woman in Football Award
Swansea City FC and Wales defender Neil Taylor picked up the Player Award at the third Asian Football Awards (AFA) in a glittering ceremony at Wembley Stadium on Thursday evening.
Taylor overcame a challenge from Wolverhampton Wanderers FC captain Danny Batth and the West Bromwich Albion FC and England U17 striker Adil Nabi, currently on loan at Delhi Dynamos FC in the Indian Premier League.
As well as cementing his place as a regular in Swansea’s defence, the 26-year-old Taylor will be off to Euro 2016 next year after helping Wales qualify for a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup.
Taylor, whose mother is from Kolkata in India, also won the award in 2013.
He said: “It’s a great feeling to win this award. I am pleased to be here tonight to pick it up, it means a lot to me. Hopefully Asian football flourishes throughout the years.My advice to any young aspiring player is to sacrifice. You have to be willing to sacrifice and
follow your own path of where you want to go, where you want to be and what you want to
achieve. You also need to have people who are willing to go on that journey with you.
Whatever background you are from, it doesn’t matter. You can make it to the top. Hopefully this can inspire the next generation of footballers.”
The judging panel for the awards included ex-England internationals Jermain Defoe, Graeme Le Saux and Steve Coppell, and Asian Football Awards founder Baljit Rihal said: “Our vision has constantly been to support the growth of Asians in football in the UK. Since our inaugural event in 2012, the media attention and support from all across the industry has been encouraging. “I can proudly say that the Asian Football Awards has been, and will continue to be, a significant platform to inspire more Asians into every aspect of the game.
“However, there is still much work to be done, as progress in increasing representation across the industry has been far too slow.more…“Our hope is that these awards will once again raise the Asians in football debate in the mainstream media and that influential organisations make an intensive effort to help rectify this longstanding imbalance.”
Aston Villa defender Easah Suliman, who recently represented England at the Under-17 World Cup in Chile, was named AFA Young Player. Two years ago Suliman became the first player with Pakistani heritage to captain an England representative side.
He said: “I feel very honoured and privileged to be here at such a great event. Neil Taylor is a massive inspiration for what he has achieved with Wales and Swansea. If I can emulate him I will have a decent career.”
South Korean star Ji So-yun, who plays for Chelsea Ladies in the Women’s Super League,
claimed the South East Asian Award ahead of Southampton’s Maya Yoshida and Swansea’s KiSung-Yueng.Gurjit Singh, from Kidderminster Harriers, was the winner of the Non-League Award, while Aditi Chauhan, the West Ham United Ladies FC and India national goalkeeper, won the Woman in Football Award.

In a media meet held today, Indian Football Association (WB) [ IFA] announced their agreement with Allied Blenders and Distillers Pvt Ltd. (ABD) under which, Officer‟s Choice Blue will be the Title Sponsor for the forthcoming Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A for the next 4 years.
Earlier, ABD had also supported various events of IFA , which included District League and IFA Shield.

Through such Title Sponsorship, ABD is confident of increasing visibility of the brand substantially.
In the media meet, IFA also circulated the complete fixture of „ Officer‟s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A 2015 – 2016, which is the top most division of Calcutta Football League, which started in 1898 and is the oldest and biggest league in Asia and one of the oldest league in the world having nearly 8,500 registered players in Calcutta Football League.

This season a total of 11 teams , who last year participated in the Championship round of Calcutta Football League Premier Division, will be playing in the Officer‟s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A. The participating teams are :-

Army XI Club

Aryan Club

B N R Recreation Club

East Bengal Club

Kalighat M S

Md. Sporting Club

Mohun Bagan A C

Police A C

Sports Authority of India

Southern Samity

Tollygunge Agragami

4 teams finishing at the bottom of the league table of Officer‟s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A will exchange their position in 2016 – 2017 with the 4 teams finishing at the top of Calcutta Football League Premier Division 2015 – 2016.

These 11 teams, which includes 2 I- League playing teams from Bengal i.e, Kingfisher East Bengal and Mohun Bagan will be vying for the coveted top slot of Officer‟s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A 2015 – 2016 where the Champion will get Rs. 25 lacs and the Runners Up will get Rs. 20 lac as Prize Money. Apart from the Prize Money for Champions and Runners Up, there are also financial awards for teams finishing at 3 to 7 based on their ranking in the tournament.

The matches of Officer‟s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A will be primarily played in the following grounds :-

East Bengal / Aryan Ground

Mohun Bagan / CFC Ground

Mohammedan Sporting / Howrah Union Ground

Vidyasagar Krirangan (Barasat Stadium)

Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium)

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Utpal Kumar Ganguli, Hony. Secretary of IFA , who is also the Vice Chairman of ABD said “ IFA welcomes their association with Officer’s Choice Blue as the Title Sponsor of Officer’s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A and sincerely thank ABD for extending their support to Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A in particular and football in Bengal, in general. The association between IFA and ABD will help improving the standard and quality of Officer’s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A and we hope, it will increase the league’s excitement in the days to come”.

Mr. Ganguli further expressed his appreciation for the support extended by Star Group , who are the Television Sponsor for Officer‟s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A and have decided to telecast live this year‟s 33 matches out of 55 matches of Officer‟s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division – A.

In a message sent from Mumbai, Mr. Bikram Basu, Chief Operating Officer, Sales & Marketing of Allied Blenders & Distillers said, “Football is sure to regain its eminence and trend as a major sport. The Calcutta Football League is one of India’s premier tournaments, and Officer’s Choice Blue takes pride in firming a long term association with IFA. With this Officers Choice Blue scores a beauty in it’s bond with the City of Joy.”

Official spokesperson of Star said, “We have witnessed the birth of a footballing nation post the inaugural season of the Hero Indian Super League. As the leading broadcaster in the state, our association with IFA is a strategic step towards strengthening relationship with football loving audience in Bengal. We would like to elevate the viewers’ experience to a new level by showcasing intimate details and capturing raw emotions on the field through use of technology. We are happy to partner with IFA for the telecast of Officer’s Choice Blue Calcutta Football League Premier Division– A”

Star Group also highlighted for enhancing the broadcast quality and viewers experience, they will be taking various steps , which includes :-

Farook College is the Champions of Kozhikode “A Division League”, the top tier league in the city. In the final match they defeated Universal Soccer Academy 4-5 in tie breaker to lift the trophy. Farook College went unbeaten in all their eight matches in the league en-route to the title.

Final, played in the Corporation stadium saw Farook College taking the lead in the 35th minute. They conceded a late goal which took the match to tie-breakers. Champions presented with a rolling trophy by Kozhikode Mayor in a function that marked the end of the league.

Tamil Nadu football Association (TFA) has announced a 20 member squad for the 69th National football championship played for the Santosh Trophy. Tamil Nadu will play the south zone qualifiers at the MSDC stadium in Manjeri. Tamil Nadu is in Group B along with Services and Pondicherry. Tamil Nadu will kick off their South Zone campaign when they meet Pondicherry on the 18th of January.

Mizoram announced their 20 players squad for the 69th National Football Championships for the Santosh Trophy. The north-east zone matches will be played in Morigaon, Assam.

The seven states of North east India have been divided into two groups. Group A is consists of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh while Group B consists of three states – Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura.

Sikkim has announced a 20 member squad for the 69th Santosh Trophy Championship.

Sikkim has been placed in a group featuring Odisha, Railways and Chattisgarh at the zonal round being hosted at Jamshedpur. They play against Odisha on January 16, Railways on January 18 and Chattisgarh on January 20. Only one team will progress into the next round.

Rahul Kumar will lead the Chandigarh team in the North Zone matches of the 69th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy to be held at the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium in Jalandhar from January 10.